Starlightwhispers
by Tarika Nachtwind
Summary: Little Kathryn listens to the stars. A sweet little story full of hope. I added two more chapters and couldn't resist to throw in a pinch of JC as well. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Well, I added two more chapters to my original little story which now is the second chapter. Please, please read and review!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own the show, only this story._

"Kathryn, Kathryn! It's bedtime! Kathryn!"

The little five-year-old girl didn't move at all. Space and time, sometimes, behave very strangely. As Kathryn stood on the wooden balustrade on the front porch, looking up at the velvet sky and its twinkling stars, they suddenly seemed so near, that she could almost touch them. Her own home seemed lost in the distance and with it all earthly sounds. All she could hear were the stars. They were whispering her name, begging her to play with them, to be among them.

"Kathryn!"

One voice, one touch brought her back to earth. Tears glistened on her face as Captain Edward Janeway carefully lifted his daughter of her lookout-post.

"The stars are so beautiful, daddy", Kathryn whispered, awed.

"I know, Goldenbird, I know." Smiling, he wiped her tears away . "One day, you will spread your wings and fly among them."

"Really? I can be on a starship like you? When?" Kathryn's eyes lit up with anticipation.

Her father chortled. "Well, first you need to grow up and study real hard and then you have to apply at Starfleet Acadamy."

"Yessir! Can you help me getting all the books I need? And do I have to learn about quant... quantan... quantum mechanics? It sounds real hard!"

Laughter filled the air and momentarily drowned out the chirr of the crickets. "Why don't you worry about that, tomorrow? Now it's time for bed."

"Oh..."

Father and daughter stepped into the house, but before he could shut the door, Kathryn had to turn back one more time. "Did you hear? I will be with you very soon! Just wait for me!"


	2. Chapter 2

The little girl giggled when the starlight accidentally tickled her nose as it softly illuminated the girl's rosy face and made her hair glow with hundreds of tiny fiery sparks. She stood on the balustrade of the front porch, one hand on a wooden beam to keep her from falling, but the other was stretched towards the sky trying to reach the stars.

"Kathryn," called a warm, yet firm voice as only a mother's could, "come down, you are going to fall."

"But Mama, can't you hear them whisper? The stars, they tell about adventures and stories and legends of warriors and princesses. But most of the time they laugh. They are happy, because, although they are far away, they can reach us with their light."

The little girl obediently climbed down from her beloved lookout and right onto the lap of her mother.

A sudden gust of wind picked up snatches of the still running news in the living room:

"...arship Voyager ... made contact ... lost over four years ago ... on the other side of the galaxy ...fleet and ..."

Small hands gently wiped away the tears that glistened on her mother's cheek.

"Don't cry, Mama, the stars will guide Aunt Kathryn back to us." She snuggled deeper into her mother's embrace. "It's their secret. But I know, because when they are silent it is what they smile about."


	3. Chapter 3

Kathryn Janeway stepped onto the front porch to enjoy the beautiful summer night, smiling softly upon seeing her niece standing on the balustrade.

"Katie", Kathryn whispered, "Would you mind if I sat down?" Kathryn pointed at the wooden beam.

"Not at all, Aunt Kathryn!" The little girl beamed up at her favorite aunt as she sat down next to her.

"You know, Katie, this was my favorite spot when I was a child."

"I know, Mum told me about it. It is my favorite spot, too. I can't even remember when I first started to listen to the stars. They always told me you were save and that they would help you get back to me, so that you could tell me all of your adventures."

For a while, they sat in comfortable silence, both looking at the stars, remembering.

"Aunt Kathryn, can you hear the stars, now? They are happy."

"I don't know, Katie, I wish I could..."

"Here are my two favorite women!"

"Uncle Chakotay!", Katie cried and launched herself on top of him, hugging him fiercely. "Hmm, you smell good... Lasagna! Is dinner ready?"

Chakotay chuckled. "Yes, everything is ready. We are just waiting for you two."

"Yummie!" Katie ran inside.

"And what are you up to, Kathryn, remembering old times?"

"I don't know. You tell me, Chakotay." She looked at the stars again. "They are beautiful, aren't they?"

"What, the stars? You are much more beautiful!", he whispered in her ear.

"Tosh, I am almost fifty!"

"And yet you are the most beautiful woman I know, and much prettier then the stars. I should know, I have seen plenty."

Laughing softly, Kathryn answered: "Stars or women, Chakotay?"

"Both", he said earnestly. He took her hand in hers. "Kathryn I... I love you."

"What about Seven?"

"Who am I to keep her from her hundreds of admirers?"

"You mean..."

"We parted on good terms." He took a deep breath. "Kathryn, do you..." He just couldn't go on.

"I never stopped loving you." She smiled up at him and lovingly cupped his cheeks in her hand.

"Aw, that's sweet. Now come on, you two, dinner is getting cold." Phoebe Janeway, Katie's mother and Kathryn's sister, couldn't help grinning from ear to ear.

Sighing, Kathryn and Chakotay left the stars walking hand in hand. But just as she stepped over the threshold she could swear she heard a faint: "Told you it would be an happy end."

And the stars laughed.


End file.
